Carbon nanotubes, in general, are cylinders of graphite closed at each end with caps containing six pentagonal rings. Carbon nanotubes can be conceptually illustrated by dividing a fullerene (C60) in half and placing a graphene cylinder between the two halves. Dividing the fullerene parallel to one of the three-fold axes results in a zig-zag nanotube construction while dividing the fullerene along one of the five-fold axes produces an armchair nanotube construction. In addition to varying lattice geometries, carbon nanotubes demonstrate different macrostructures expressed as single-walled nanotubes and multi-walled nanotubes.
Since their discovery in 1991, carbon nanotubes have found application in a wide variety of fields due to their distinct and advantageous electronic and mechanical properties. One field in which nanotubes are finding continued applicability is that of biomaterials. Carbon nanotubes have been used for electrochemical detection of biological species, tissue scaffolding, and molecular delivery. Single-walled carbon nanotubes have been shown to shuttle various cargoes across cellular membranes without cytotoxicity thereby providing additional avenues for drug delivery in disease treatment applications.
Many diseases exist which require harsh treatment strategies and procedures. One such disease is cancer. Despite considerable research efforts, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Treatments for cancer are invasive and generally include surgery to remove cancerous tissue followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. Cancer treatments often produce harmful side effects such as undifferentiated destruction of diseased and healthy cells, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.
In view of these harmful side effects, it would be desirable to provide alternative, less invasive treatment strategies for cancer and other diseases. It would additionally be desirable to provide carbon nanoparticle compositions operable for use in such strategies.